CHALLENGE:

When EMI Netherlands wanted one of their finest jazz artists to reach a wider international audience, they needed album art that would be as evocative as the music itself. How could we create a real New York vibe for this much-loved Dutch singer?

Trijntje Oosterhuis is a much-loved soul, R&B and jazz singer in Holland. And she was steadily growing her audience when EMI Netherlands asked us to create collateral for her upcoming releases and tour. Inside some pretty tight deadlines and budgets, EMI needed CD covers and inserts – primarily for the album ‘Sundays in New York’, which was set to be shared as a free gift with Algemeen Dagblad, a newspaper with a circulation of 430,000.

Of course, the cover art needed to reflect the great, expansive city of the album title. But, in line with the music, we knew it should feel personal too. So, when we used stunning photography of New York skylines, we also included a handwritten style of typography – giving those grand city scenes an individual touch. Meanwhile, we designed the tour brochure like a scrapbook, featuring things like travel tickets. The whole approach evoked those special, quiet moments we experience when travelling – when we pause to sit in the park, when we grab coffee in a café. Moments we all have when we’re far from home, so perfectly expressed by the soulful music.